There are many known bag machines. One style is a rotary drum machine. Rotary drum machines are well known, and a detailed description may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,117,058, 4,934,993, 5,518,559, 5,587,032 and 4,642,084 (each of which is hereby incorporated by reference).
A detailed description of the operation of rotary bag machines may be found in the patents above, but their general operation may be seen with respect to FIG. 1. A prior art rotary bag machine 100 continuously processes a film/web 201 using a dancer assembly 203, a pair of drum-in rolls 205 and 206 (203-206 are part of an input section), a sealing drum 208, a pair of drum-out rolls 210 and 211, a sealing blanket 213, a pair of knife-in rolls 215 and 216, a knife 218 (which could be any other web processing device such as a perforator, knife, die cutter, punching station, or folding station), a pair of knife-out rolls 219 and 220 (210-220 are part of an output section), and a controller 221. Input section, as used herein, includes the portion of a bag machine where the web is received, such as an unwind and a dancer assembly. Output section, as used herein, includes assemblies that act on a web downstream of the seals being formed, such as perforators, winders, folders, etc.
The web is provided through dancer assembly 203 to drum 208. Drum 208 includes a plurality of seal bars 209. The seals bars are heated and create the seals forming the bags from web 201. Web 201 is held against drum 208 (and the seals bars) by a Teflon® coated blanket. The distance between seals created by the drum is related to the bag length (for bags formed end to end) or the bag width (for bags formed by making side seals). End to end bags are formed with one seal from the drum, and side to side bags are formed with a pair of seals. The drum diameter may be adjusted and/or less than all of the seal bars turned on to determine the distance between seals, and hence bag size.
The prior art of FIG. 1 provides that after web 201 leaves drum 208 it is directed to rotary knife 218, which creates a perforation between bags, or could separate adjoining bags. When the bags are end to end bags the perforation is placed close to the single seal such that when the bags are separated, the perforation and the perforated end is the top of one bag, and the seal is the bottom of the adjoining bag for end seals, or sides of adjacent bags for side seals. Ideally, the perforation is close to the seal to reduce waste, although this is difficult in practice. When bags are formed side to side, the perforation is made between the pair of seals. A seal is needed on both sides of the perforation, since the side of both bags should be sealed. The web between the pair of seals is wasted. Thus, the pair of seals should be close to one another to reduce waste, although this is also difficult in practice.
Controller 221 is connected to the various components to control speed, position, etc. Sensors may be used to sense print on the web to form the seals and/or register the perforation (place it in the correct location with respect) to the seal. Also, sensors may detect seals to try and create the perforation in the correct location. Sensing the seal has proven to be difficult. One prior art example of a system that sensed seals is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,807, hereby incorporated by reference. If the perforation is placed too close to one side seal, then the seal may be cut off, rendering the bag useless.
Because sensing the seal is difficult, waste is generated in bag making, or bags are ruined. The wasted web, (i.e. the web between a seal and the adjacent perforation), or the web used to make the ruined bag, can be costly, particularly for high speed bag machines where the number of bags made per hour is great.
Another problem of prior art machines is that perforations may be skewed with respect to the seals, because the perforations are created downstream, and the web can wander or stretch. Also, a mechanical perforation knife must be adjusted every few days to continue to perform properly. Generally, sharp mechanical knives cannot be adjusted to change the perforation strength, and they can be costly, complex, and difficult to use.
Other type of bag machines, such as intermittent motion machines (not rotary drum machines) use burn off seals to seal and cut or perforate at the same time but speed is limited to about 300 fpm due to the reciprocating motion, dwell time, and difficulty handling the loose bags. Other intermittent motion machines, such as the CMD Icon™, have seal bars with an integral toothed blade. The CMD CM300™ machine has oscillating motion to move seal bars that have an integral toothed blade. Generally, intermittent motion machines are not as fast as rotary drum continuous machines, and thus produce far fewer bags per machine hour.
Some prior art rotary drum bag machines create two parallel seals, and a perforation therebetween as the film moves with the drum. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,635,139 to Bohn, et al., and prior related application US 2007-0167304, Selle et al., which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,445,590 on Nov. 4, 2008, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
These bag machines have been limited to forming bags. Adapting this technology for converting film into other articles using a continuous motion machine such as a rotary drum machine would be desirable.